Scientists Detect Giant Lava Fields from Active Underwater Volcano

Scientists Detect Giant Lava Fields from Active Underwater Volcano
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Researchers have mapped massive lava flows and collapsing lava ponds at Axial Seamount, an active submarine volcano on the Juan de Fuca Ridge off the U.S. Pacific Northwest, revealing how underwater eruptions reshape the seafloor.

Using autonomous underwater vehicles and remotely operated vehicles, scientists identified three large lava flow fields covering 65–100 square kilometers each and reaching up to 130 meters thick. The flows include deep, interconnected lava ponds with no known analogs on land or elsewhere underwater.

The study, published in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, shows that lava inflates, fractures, and collapses, forming pits and draining molten rock, processes likely connected to caldera collapses. The most recent major eruption occurred roughly 1,200 years ago.

These findings provide new insight into submarine volcanic activity and its role in shaping the ocean floor, with implications for geologic hazards and potential tsunami generation.